Boxing Day Silence

 

Peace On Earth, Goodwill Toward Men

We truly wish each and every one of you, friends and family, near and far, all the blessings of a Joyous and Merry Christmas.

 

May you have the gladness of Christmas which is hope;

The spirit of Christmas which is peace;

The heart of Christmas which is love."

 

~Ada V. Hendicks

 

 

When Christmas bells are swinging above the fields of snow,

We hear sweet voices ringing from lands of long ago,

And etched on vacant places

Are half-forgotten faces

Of friends we used to cherish,

And loves we used to know.

 

~ Ella Wheeler Wilcox

The Longest Night

   The longest night of the year, with the Cold Moon as it's companion.

                                                       Winter arrives.

 

" Lighting one candle

from another -

Winter night "

 

~ Buson

Christmas Scents

One of my favorite Christmas activities in early December, when the cold weather has set in and thoughts are turning to decorating, are to make dried orange slices for hanging on the tree.

The aroma is intoxicatingly festive, and fills the house with the fresh smell of oranges.

If you desire you can sprinkle a few with a light dusting of cinnamon, not too heavy an amount as this tends to make the oranges darker.

When they are hung from the branches and the twinkling fairy lights shine through they remind of Nature's stained-glass.

 

 

Two or three Navel oranges.

Preheat your oven to 200 degrees.

Prepare your pan with nonstick spray or a baking mat. ...

Slice oranges into 1/4″ slices or thinner. ... 
Pat dry with a paper towel.

Place oranges in a single layer on the prepared pan, ensuring they do not touch.

Bake for up to 6 hours or until completely dry.
Hang from the tree with jute or ribbon.

                                                                              🎄

Brown Paper Packages, Tied Up With String

Today I braved the masses and finished up my Christmas shopping, at least I think so.

I've still to do the final list-checking, but for once I've gotten ahead of the game, and wrapped all of the gifts.

I'm usually a Christmas-Eve wrapper, in panic mode no less.

My daughter used to help me wrap all of the gifts, but since she has her own family to take care of, I'm left to my own devices.

 

Tonight I'm taking a little time to relax.

With the winter moon high in the sky, and  the landscape covered in a rain-filled mist, I'm treating myself to an evening hearthside .

Twinkling trees, candles glowing, a lovely pot of tea and Christmas shortbread,  I'm settling in for a date with Dylan Thomas, the popular and much-loved Welsh poet.

 

A Child's Christmas in Wales film, a timeless tale, delivers with gentleness a glimpse of a child's Welsh Christmas and takes you on a journey back to the magic and marvel of boyhood " where no two moments were ever alike, and life was embraced with belief instead of doubt ."

Purely magical !
 

Simple Pleasures

 

"The real things haven't changed. It is still best to be honest and truthful; to make the most of what we have; to be happy with simple pleasures; and have courage when things go wrong."

                                                         ~ Laura Ingalls Wilder

Thanksgiving Blessings

Count your blessings instead of your crosses;

Count your gains instead of your losses.

Count your joys instead of your woes;

Count your friends instead of your foes.

Count your smiles instead of your tears;

Count your courage instead of your fears.

Count your full years instead of your lean;

Count your kind deeds instead of your mean.

Count your health instead of your wealth;

Count on God instead of yourself.

~Author Unknown

 

A Blessed and Happy Thanksgiving from our home to yours............

 

Ode To Autumn

An overnight freeze and ground still warm from a day of sunshine started  our morning with an eerie mist.

By noon, sunshine had returned, and garden chores were undertaken. Leaf-gathering, pot cleaning, and a general all around tidy up, giving one last chance to put the garden to rest for yet another season.

"Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness,

Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;

Conspiring with him how to load and bless

With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run;

To bend with apples the moss'd cottage-trees,

And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;

To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells

With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,

And still more, later flowers for the bees,

Until they think warm days will never cease,

For Summer has o'er-brimm'd their clammy cells."

~ John Keats

Cottage Love

 

A cottage small be mine, with porch

Enwreathed with ivy green,

And brightsome flowers with dew-filled bells,

'Mid brown old wattles seen.

And one to wait at shut of eve,

With eyes as fountain clear,

And braided hair, and simple dress,

My homeward step to hear.

On summer eves to sing old songs,

And talk o'er early vows,

While stars look down like angels' eyes

Amid the leafy boughs.

When Spring flowers peep from flossy cells,

And bright-winged parrots call,

In forest paths be ours to rove

Till purple evenings fall.

The curtains closed, by taper clear

To read some page divine,

On winter nights, the hearth beside,

Her soft, warm hand in mine.

And so to glide through busy life,

Like some small brook alone,

That winds its way 'mid grassy knolls,

Its music all its own.

Love in a Cottage ~ Daniel Henry Deniehy 1828-1865

                                                            

The Turning Of The Leaf

Finally, a little Autumn color has crept in.

Just in time for a blustery wind, to blanket the ground with autumn brilliance.
Raking leaves now sits at the top of the "to-do" list.
And a portly kitty spends her days chasing them.

 

 

 

  

 

 

 


...I see
the turning of a leaf
dancing in an autumn sun,
and brilliant shades of crimson
glowing when a day is done...

~Hazelmarie "Mattie" Elliott, "

 

Fall Back

 

 

Last night at exactly 2 am our semi-annual clock fiddling took place once again.

An hour backwards from Daylight Saving Time, affording an extra hour of sleep on these colder mornings.

Just enough time to remind us, that the year is winding down, and soon, a long sleepy winter will be our companion.

A time to regenerate our weary souls, and make new plans for the coming year ahead.

A time to dream.

 

Trick Or Treat

 We'll leave the light on for you.

 

" By the pricking of my thumbs,
Something wicked this way comes,
Open, locks,
Whoever knocks ".
 
Shakespeare / Macbeth 1606

 

 

 

 

Rainless Days

We have been without significant rainfall for over a month.

Usually by mid-October, we are surrounded by brilliant orange, and red leaves on the trees, but sadly they are turning brown, and falling to the ground.

Interesting, since we had a wet spring and summer, and now a dry, brown Autumn.

The Autumn Joy Sedum however, is turning a delicious shade of crimson.

 

 

Indian Summer

Indian Summer is upon us. Balmy warm days, and mist-laden nights.
One last chance to indulge in fleeting Summer pleasures.

An early American writer described Indian Summer well when he wrote, "The air is perfectly quiescent and all is stillness, as if Nature, after her exertions during the Summer, were now at rest."

     

 ~ John Bradbury 1817

English Country Folk

A little treasure from the Royal Doulton, Beswick, English Country Folk Collection,
Mrs Rabbit Baker.
I found her on one of our many trips to the antique shops in England during my last trip home. 
She reminds me of my grandma Elizabeth Jane, who owned one of the towns local bakeries.

" No matter what time you call in at Mrs. Rabbit's homely* cottage, you're sure to find her hard at work in the cozy, wood-panelled kitchen.
Whether a traditional Sunday roast, delicious cakes, or her famous homemade scones, Mrs Rabbit's care and skill make every mouthful a special treat."


* for American readers the use of the word 'homely' in England means cozy and comfortable.

Long - Awaited

Our trusty weatherman has predicted we'll be finally experiencing some Fall-like weather this week.
No more of the ninety degree days, but temperatures much cooler, and  seasonal.
I can't wait to open the windows at night, enjoy the crisp air, and fall asleep to the sound of the screech owl calling.
*ahhh*

Mother Nature's Stained-Glass Creation

 

The Monarch butterflies have been prolific this year.

With more than 80 percent of the world’s flowering plants relying on pollinators, their importance to natural ecosystems and agriculture cannot be overstated. However, populations of pollinators, including bird, bat, butterfly, beetle and bee species, have been declining around the world.  

 Monarch butterflies complete incredible migrations of hundreds to thousands of miles each year across North America. Along their migratory paths, Monarchs rely on habitats that contain milkweed species, which is the only plant that they lay their eggs on. Monarch caterpillars feed exclusively on milkweed, which contains chemical compounds that make them poisonous to potential predators.

Soon they will be returning to their home in Mexico, where they will spend their winter hibernation clustered in small areas of the Reserva de la Biosfera Mariposa Monarca (Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve), a national protected area and nature preserve that covers more than 200-square-miles.

Source: usda.gov 

September Days

 

 

"By all these lovely tokens

September days are here

With summer's best of weather

And autumn's best of cheer."

~ Helen Hunt Jackson ( 1830-1885 )

 

Hello September

" September days have the warmth of summer in their briefer hours,

But in their lengthening evenings a prophetic breath of autumn.
The cricket chirps in the noontide, making the most of what remains of his brief life.
The bumblebee is busy among the clover blossoms of the aftermath,
And their shrill and dreamy hum hold the outdoor world above the voices of the song birds,
Now silent or departed."-

~ September Days : Rowland E. Robinson, Vermont

Late Summer Days

August days are waning.

Schoolchildren return to classes, and the days are now eerily quiet.

County fairs are in full swing, fun, food and frolic.

Summer days seem noticeably shorter.
Brilliant sunsets, light up the night sky.

And the ebb and flow of seasons continue.

Believe

                        "In this broken human world, small miracles still emerge before us"

Bill Brown

The Simplest Things Are Often The Most Beautiful

Passion Flower / Maypop

Time For Tea

When you are raised in a culture of hot tea-drinkers, from the time you are old enough to enjoy a  milked-down version in your baby bottle, through infancy and youth and young adulthood, continuing throughout your life into senior days, you rarely pay any attention to your daily habits until someone points them out.

The first thing that most English people do when people stop by the house, is to put the kettle on. Tea mostly, or coffee if you prefer, it's embedded in our DNA.
We were watching re-runs of Downton Abbey today, I couldn't help but smile as I watched the offer of "tea ?" being suggested at every twist and turn. 

When a visitor drops by, when good news is received, after bad news is received, when a helping hand is needed, or a little encouragement is welcomed.

 

Tea drinking in many cultures is the centuries-old tradition and universal language of civility, and social nurturing, a little more partaking these days would be a good thing.

"THE CUP FOR ME.

"Let others sing the praise of wine,

Let others deem its joys divine,

Its fleeting bliss shall ne'er be mine,

Give me a cup of tea!

The cup that soothes each aching pain,

Restores the sick to health again,

Steals not from heart, steals not from brain,

A friend when others flee.

"When sorrow frowns, what power can cheer,

Or chase away the falling tear

Without the vile effects of beer,

Like Pekoe or Bohea?

What makes the old man young and strong,

Like Hyson, Congou, or Souchong,

Which leave the burthen of his song

A welcome cup of tea.

"Then hail the grave Celestial band,

With planning mind, and planting hand,

And let us bless that golden land

So far across the sea;

Whose hills and vales give fertile birth

To that fair shrub of priceless worth,

Which yields each son of mother earth

A fragrant cup of tea."